General property renovation in London is a complicated, multi-stage operation. Making spontaneous decisions is not always the best solution. We need a plan! But how to come up with a proper plan and how to implement it? We suggest how to plan the renovation of a flat - step by step - and give the most useful renovation advice.
How to plan a property renovation in London?
If we’re planning a major renovation of a flat in London, it would be best to use the advice of a specialist, for example, a London architect http://sigmalondon.com/blog/2018/9/17/what-does-a-london-architect-do-exactly-your-question-answered or interior designer. An experienced professional will make us aware of what to watch out for and tell us which stage is worth spending more time or money on. On the other hand, planning the renovation of a flat can be done by ourselves if we have the time and the skills to do it (See also: How to survive property renovation in London - a few practical tips).
First of all, consider the scope of the renovation works
If we start the general property renovation in London, we can predict that there will be a lot of things to include on our to-do list. Let's write on a piece of paper all the work that we consider necessary. We do not omit anything! Connecting the oven, repairing windows (if we do not want to replace them), supplementing a few chipped tiles in the bathroom are the activities that seem trivial, but we can expect that they will take a lot of time.
Where to start a flat renovation?
Once we have completed a list of individual works, we must determine the order of the renovation of the flat. We need a bit of professional knowledge for this.
General property renovation in London step by step:
- first of all, we undertake construction works, for example, demolition of existing partition walls or construction of new ones, implementation of suspended ceilings, installation of pipes, etc.
- then the installation works, like gas installation or central heating,
- later we can take care of replacing the windows (or at least repairing the old ones),
- then the repair works, such as levelling walls and ceilings, preparing them for painting and renovating the floor,
- finishing ceilings, walls and floors (in this order),
- at the very end, assembly works, i.e. installation of sockets, lamps, furniture, shelves, wardrobes, etc.
We should remember that the London property renovation schedule should also include the dates of orders and deliveries and take into account the dates specified by the contractors. It is always good to have a few additional days for particular stages of work, to ensure their smooth and harmonious course and to protect ourselves against various random events.
Choose a good London construction company
If we are planning to arrange the new flat from scratch or create a completely new one on the basis of our old one, we should consider hiring one of the London construction companies that deal with renovations. In the case of the renovation of a small flat, it is usually best to hire one contractor who will take care of all the necessary works. If you manage to find a reliable London construction company, you can be sure that the schedule will be kept and everything will go as planned.
Set a timetable
When we have already determined the next stages of our London property renovation, let's think about whether it's better to carry out all the work in a short time, or maybe spread it out for at least a few months. The first way will allow us to quickly deal with this quite exhausting process, while the second approach will allow us to finance the general renovation of the apartment with current funds.
The order of rooms
Our planning experts believe it’s always best to start with the most time-consuming, demanding and complicated works. This, first and foremost, applies to the bathroom. Removing old tiles and laying new ones and replacing equipment will take a lot of time and will use up a lot of resources. Then, let's take care of the kitchen renovation, followed by the living room and the remaining rooms, and let's finish in the hallway. It is better not to deal with the smallest works first, otherwise, it may turn out that we changed the floor in the rooms and painted the walls, but we did not have the finances and time for the main point of the renovation, that is, the kitchen and bathroom.
